Growing ones own vegetables is gaining popularity by the hour. Why? Easy! It’s healthier, tastier, you can grow specialty veggies you could not find at the store, and in many cases, it’s cheaper too. But not all of us have the space to create a vegetable garden in our yard. These container vegetable gardening ideas mean that anyone can grow their own vegetables! Even if you have limited space, or you simply don’t want the maintenance of a full size vegetable garden. Here we tell you just how to grow vegetables in containers, which vegetables grow best in pots, and creative container gardening ideas for your vegetables and herbs. So let’s get to it!
Growing Vegetables in Pots or Planters
Growing vegetables in pots is easy and low maintenence, but there are a few guidelines. Here are some container vegetable gardening tips to get you off to a good start! Photo by ‘BHG‘.
- Choose pots that are large enough to grow your desired veggie… If you try to grow potatoes in a 6 inch terra cotta pot, you aren’t going to get too far. While you don’t need as much space as the packet might call for if you were to plant it in open ground, use good sense. Lettuce doesn’t need much space. Carrots need a deep pot. Potatoes and squash need large containers. Tomatoes need containers with support.
- Choose pots with good drainage, or add drainage with gravel.Megan at ‘The Wellness Essentials‘ has a complete guide to growing vegetables in containers, and she suggests you use small potting rocks in the bottom of your planters to improve the drainage.
- DO NOT use soil from your garden in your container vegetable garden. It will simple compact in pots or planters and suffocate the plant. Use a good potting or planting mix.
- Pay attention to the sun and shade requirements of the vegetables you want to grow. We love container gardens on wheels, so that we can move them around to get maximum sun each day. (Or to shade sensitive veggies from hot afternoon summer sun.)
- Use a regular fertilizer. Since containers get watered more often, they tend to lose their nutrients faster. We recommend an organic water soluble fertilizer. Try “Jobes Organics“.
- Watch for pest and disease, and treat early. While vegetables grown in containers tend to be healthier, they can still become victim to bugs, blights, mildews and fungus. We use organic pest & disease products from ‘Gardeners Supply‘.
- Do not feel like you have to grow vegetables in ugly containers. Just because they are edible plants doesn’t mean they are simply utilitarian. Veggies are beautiful too, so give them beautiful containers for a gorgeous garden! So on to our vegetable garden ideas for pots and planters that you can DIY!
Container Gardening Ideas for Vegetables
So if you want your vegetable garden to be grown in more than a plastic pot from Walmart, then we have some awesome DIY tutorials for you. Get started making your own container vegetable garden!
Build this tiered vegetable planter box with these free plans from ‘Anikas DIY Life‘ She even has a video walking you through her whole tutorial. We love how the upper level has a decorative trellis. It’s pretty, and prefect for veggies that need some support.
Remember when we mentioned how useful a rolling container is for vegetable gardens? ‘Kleinworth & Co.‘ has a tutorial for a vegetable container garden so pretty, I would plant anything in it. Yep, and it’s moveable!
Plant a lettuce basket with these instructions from ‘Home Depot‘. You can grow your own salad makings away from slugs and other ground pests, and it’s lovely on it’s own. And, lettuce can grow in part shade, so it’s perfect for a patio vegetable garden!
Another way to grow your own salad container garden is to use barrels. You can grow everything you need for your best Cobb or Ceasar with this tutorial from ‘Garden Therapy‘. Another one that is decorative enough for the patio, and close enough to the house for easy access.
Build your own tomato planter with trellis, perfect for growing the best on the block! No ugly tomato cages here! Instructions at ‘How To Specialist‘. You could also grow beans, peas or even cucumbers in this planter.
Want fresh potatoes that you can harvest without having to dig them up? Make this potato tower with the tutorial from ‘Craft Thyme‘. This uses slide out boards so you can harvest from the bottom while the plants are still growing.
Save space, and protect your tomato plants from slugs by planting them in an upside down hanging container. This tomato planter from ‘Our Hand Crafted Life‘ is made from an ordinary galvanized bucket. Tomatoes love growing this way, and she has a video tutorial to walk you through this easy project.
If you want to grow a more complete vegetable container garden, then try this tiered planter box from ‘Chris Loves Julia‘. Perfect for patio gardening! The tiered design makes sure each level gets enough sun.
Create a complete garden with this container idea for vegetables from ‘Blue Roof Cabin‘. They used a 40 gallon stock tank. You can buy 2 smaller ones from ‘Amazon‘ with free shipping with a Prime account.
You can grow every veggie you will ever need in this vertical container vegetable garden from ‘Helpful Homemade‘. Use this tutorial to create planters that are so pretty, you won’t believe this is all justvegetables!
Lastly, we have a recommendation for those of you who want an easy to maintain container vegetable gardening idea, but don’t have the time or skills to build your own. ‘The Vegepod‘ comes with a protective cover for those late frosts or windy days, it’s self watering, and it has detachable legs to raise it up to waist height if you prefer. It comes with a 10 year a warranty, and free shipping from Amazon when you have a Prime account. If you want to grow your own vegetables, this is the real deal!
So no matter how small your yard, you can have a container vegetable garden you can be proud of! We think you will also love our posts on 14 Herb Garden Container Ideas, and be sure to check out our post on Should You Eat Organic Vegetables?: The Dirty Dozen & the Clean 15 over at our sister site, OhMeOhMy!
Thx for sharing on Gardening Week, DIY IdeaCenter
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